1. Parallels Virtuozzo Containers Best Practices
Alec Istomin, Sr. Sales Engineer

2. Agenda Optimize your Virtuozzo infrastructure
New Virtuozzo Server Provisioning Best Practices
Take Control of Resources Utilization
Q & A

3. Optimize the Virtuozzo infrastructure
Configure Virtuozzo and PIM defaults
Create Container Samples: Resources (SLM), Network Settings, Templates
Create Virtual Networks
Create IP Address Pool
Create Infrastructure and Logical Folders
Connect to your AD Domain
Create and Assign Security Roles
Configure Global Backup Defaults:Storage Location, Type (Incremental)
Schedule Periodic Backups

4. Optimize the Virtuozzo infrastructure
Linux: Maintain Local Repositories for EZ Templates
Create Linux Distributions Mirrors: createrepo, vzcreaterepo, vzpkgproxy, vzrhnproxy
Create Custom Packages Repository: createrepo
Keep Local Repositories up2date: rsync, createrepo
Configure EZ Templates: /etc/vztt/url.map, repositories, mirrorlist
Configure yum on Virtuozzo Hosts
Maintain Local Virtuozzo updates repository
Create in a Container: vzup2date-mirror, VUS (Windows)
Keep up2date
Manual Approval is Possible: <ApproveSystemUpdate> (Linux),VUS Manager GUI
Configure on Virtuozzo Hosts: vzup2date.conf (Linux), registry or GUI

5. Optimize the Virtuozzo infrastructure
Enable scripting across environment
Linux: Use scripting over ssh: .ssh/authorized_keys2
Windows: Use psexec.exe from Sysinternals
Maintain the text file with Server IP addresses
Run scripts on EVERY Server from a single location
Example: one-liner to install Virtuozzo updates on ALL servers:
for i in `cat /root/servers.txt `; do ssh $i "hostname;vzup2date -m batch install --self-update --loader-autoconfig"; done
for /F "usebackq" %i in (`cmd /c "more servers.txt"`) do psexec \\%i cmd /c "hostname &vzupdate /unattended"

6. New Virtuozzo Server Provisioning Best Practices
Unattended Virtuozzo Installation
./install -a -o --skip-reboot -k smp --lic-key XXXXXX-YYYYYY-XXXXXX-YYYYYY-XXXXXX
virtuozzo4.0_x64.exe /L"1033" /V" VZAUTOINSTALL=1 VZ=D:\vz /qr /lv C:\virtuozzo-install.log"
Unattended Virtuozzo Updates Installation
Configure Virtuozzo to use Local Virtuozzo updates repository
vzup2date -m batch install --self-update --loader-autoconfig
vzupdate.exe /unattended

7. New Virtuozzo Server Provisioning Best Practices
Scripting Virtuozzo Post Configuration
Install Virtuozzo license: vzlicload –p XXXX-YYYY-XXXX-YYYY-XXXX
Virtual networks configuration: vznetcfg
Configure container backup defaults, ie location:
vzabackup --set-folder /vz/backups/ localhost
Linux
Configure EZ Templates to use Local packages repository: /etc/vztt/url.map
Copy Templates metadata from an existing ‘Master’ Server:
tar cfpP - /vz/template/*/*/*/config | (ssh newserver.com tar xfpv - -C /)
Cache Templates to ensure that repositories are configured properly:
vzpkg create cache
Windows
Copy and Deploy cached Templates
net use z: \\masterserver.com\d$\vz\templates\__cache
copy /y "z:\*.efd" "%VZROOT%\templates\__cache"
for /F "usebackq tokens=1" %i in (`cmd /c "vzpkgls"`) do vzpkgdeploy -i %i 2>nul

8. Take Control of Resources Utilization
Monitor your Hardware, Learn Your Peaks and Bottlenecks
PIM - Parallels Infrastructure Manager, will be renamed to PVA (Parallels Virtualization Automation)
perfmon: Virtuozzo object in Windows Performance Counters
vmstat
vzstat
vzslmutilization.sh
/proc/user_beancounters
Is it CPU, Disk, Network or Memory ?

9. Take Control of Resources Utilization
Start from bird’s eye view in PIM

10. Take Control of Resources Utilization
Inspect a Physical server with high utilization
vztop; vzps axfw -E; vzstat; vmstat; vzslmutilization.sh
taskmgr.exe; perfmon.exe
vzlist -o all
Inspect an Abusing Container
vzps axfw –E CTID
Analyze Processes inside Container
strace; ltrace; lsof
Sysinternals: procexp.exe; handle.exe
Can you tell if it’s an Application Malfunction?

11. Take Control of Resources Utilization
Tune Virtuozzo Resource Parameters
CPU
CPUUNITS
CPULIMIT
CPUS
Disk
IOPRIO
Network
Shaping
Tune the Application
Move (temporary?) to Faster Hardware

12. Q & A
Thank You!